A Life Force (Will Eisner Library) [Paperback]

Will Eisner (Author)

Book Description

Series: Will Eisner Library | Publication Date: May 1995

“Eisner was not only ahead of his times; the present times are still catching up to him.”—John Updike

Called “a masterpiece” by R. Crumb, A Life Force chronicles not only the Great Depression but also the rise of Nazism and the spread of socialist politics through the depiction of the protagonist, Jacob Shtarkah, whose existential search reflected Eisner’s own lifelong struggle.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Will Eisner was born William Erwin Eisner on March 6, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. By the time of his death on January 3, 2005, Will Eisner was recognized internationally as one of the giants in the field of sequential art, a term he coined.

In a career that spanned nearly eight decades—from the dawn of the comic book to the advent of digital comics—Will Eisner was truly the 'Orson Welles of comics' and the 'father of the Graphic Novel'. He broke new ground in the development of visual narrative and the language of comics and was the creator of The Spirit, John Law, Lady Luck, Mr. Mystic, Uncle Sam, Blackhawk, Sheena and countless others.

During World War II, Will Eisner used the comic format to develop training and equipment maintenance manuals for the US Army. After the war this continued as the Army's P.S. Magazine, which is still being produced today. Will Eisner taught Sequential Arts at the New York School of Visual Arts. The textbooks that he wrote based on his course are still bestsellers. In 1978, Will Eisner wrote A Contract with God, the first modern graphic novel. This was followed by almost 20 additional graphic novels over the following 25 years.

The "Oscars" of the Comic Industry are called The Eisner Awards, and named after Will Eisner. The Eisners are presented annually before a packed ballroom at Comic-Con International in San Diego, America's largest comics convention.

Wizard magazine named Eisner "the most influential comic artist of all time." Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-prize winning novel The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is based in good part on Eisner. In 2002, Eisner received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Federation for Jewish Culture, only the second such honor in the organization's history, presented by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 139 pages
• Publisher: Kitchen Sink Pr (Nrt) (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878160396
• ISBN-13: 978-0878160396
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,876,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

WILL EISNER was born William Erwin Eisner on March 6, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. By the time of his death on January 3, 2005, Will Eisner was recognized internationally as one of the giants in the field of sequential art, a term he coined.

In a career that spanned nearly eight decades -- from the dawn of the comic book to the advent of digital comics - Will Eisner was truly the 'Orson Welles of comics' and the 'father of the Graphic Novel'. He broke new ground in the development of visual narrative and the language of comics and was the creator of The Spirit, John Law, Lady Luck, Mr. Mystic, Uncle Sam, Blackhawk, Sheena and countless others.

During World War II, Will Eisner used the comic format to develop training and equipment maintenance manuals for the US Army. After the war this continued as the Army's "PS Magazine" which is still being produced today. Will Eisner taught Sequential Arts at the New York School of Visual Arts. The textbooks that he wrote based on his course are still bestsellers. In 1978, Will Eisner wrote "A Contract with God," the first modern Graphic Novel. This was followed by almost 20 additional graphic novels over the following 25 years.

The "Oscars" of the Comic Industry are called The Eisner Awards, and named after Will Eisner. The Eisners are presented annually before a packed ballroom at Comi-Con International in San Diego, America's largest comics convention.

Wizard magazine named Eisner "the most influential comic artist of all time." Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-prize winning novel "Kavalier and Clay" is based in good part on Eisner. In 2002, Eisner received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Federation for Jewish Culture, only the second such honor in the organization's history, presented by Pulitzer-prize winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman.

You can always find more information about Will Eisner at www.willeisner.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great stuff indeed, January 6, 2004

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Life Force (Will Eisner Library) (Paperback)

It's the early 1930s and times are tough at 55 Dropsie Avenue in the Bronx. There's not enough work to go around, most of the powers that be don't want to admit how bad things are, and people have to hang together to get by. And for the most part, they do. Jacob Shtarkah, a carpenter, after completing a five-year building project for the synagogue, finds they don't need his labor any longer. He also has a bad heart, and his wife isn't in such great shape either. Then there's Elton Shaftsbury, who manages to lose his inheritance, his position as a broker on Wall Street, and much of his self-respect. He ends up in the Bronx, where the living is cheaper, trying to find work and contemplating suicide -- and becoming acquainted with Jacob's daughter, Rebecca. The Black Hand is trying to get by, too, by pressuring illegal immigrants whom they helped to enter the country. Angelo, also a carpenter, is one of those -- but he and Jacob may be able to help each other. Willie, Jacob's teenaged son, is flirting with Red revolution, . . . but he'll choose his mother's cooking any day. And there's Frieda Gold, trapped in Nazi Germany, who turns to her old boyfriend -- Jacob, of course -- for help in escaping. But you know they'll all survive because they all share the life force, as exemplified by the cockroaches in the alley. Eisner practically invented the graphic novel form singlehanded, and the more of his stories I read, the more he takes me into his world. But this volume isn't just a "story." It's literature, a saga of immigrant striving, of muddling through against the odds. Great stuff.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Life Force" Review, June 12, 2000

By 

Edward T. Yaekle - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Life Force (Will Eisner Library) (Paperback)

This is an examination of the hopes, fears and daily lives Bronx residents during the 1930's and 40's. It takes place during a time period which contained The Great Depression and WWII, but with focus on residents of a Bronx tenement, and how these global events have impact on their lives.

Again, Eisner has created art so real, you actually feel these tenement dwellers emotions.

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!, June 3, 2011

By 

Caroline Lim (Lexington, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Life Force (Will Eisner Library) (Paperback)

Touching on the 1930s Great Depression, Nazi persecution of Jews and the growing Communist movement .... and philosophically, the meaning of life of man and cockroach, this was yet another work of art by Eisner.